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72nd out of 303 books
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88 voters
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Odd and the Frost Giants
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author),
Brett Helquist
In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back.
In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless free
...moreHardcover, 117 pages
Published
by HarperCollins
(first published 2008)
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Stacey
rated it
Each time I read something by Gaiman, I think, “This. This is where he excels.” Whether it's a fairy story (Stardust,) or a children's story (Coraline.) Or the melding of American Mythology with a new Mythology of his creation (American Gods, Anansi Boys.) Maybe it's something vaguely steampunkish and other-worldly, like Neverwhere. Sometimes it's when I revist the complexities in Sandman.
Or maybe I'm not actually that fickle, and I just like the way his phrasing and ideas are like ...more
Or maybe I'm not actually that fickle, and I just like the way his phrasing and ideas are like ...more
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Alright, alright, I admit to ordering this book from Amazon UK. It wasn't going to be in the US until the fall, and that was just unacceptable. It's the World Book Day edition, so it cost 1 pound to buy and like 10 to ship.
It's a charming little Gaiman fable, more in the vein of Interworld than Coraline. Odd (a real Scandinavian name) has an infuriating smile and a run in with some Norse Gods. However, there's only one Frost Giant (truth in advertising people!!). But it's sweet ...more
It's a charming little Gaiman fable, more in the vein of Interworld than Coraline. Odd (a real Scandinavian name) has an infuriating smile and a run in with some Norse Gods. However, there's only one Frost Giant (truth in advertising people!!). But it's sweet ...more
Written by Neil Gaiman for World Book Day in the UK, Odd and the Frost Giants, seems to have been penned with a real dose of magic in the quill! From the moment I began reading this whimsical story about the son of a sea-faring Viking, set in ancient Scandinavia, I experienced an instant connection with Odd, and was transported through time to a simpler world who's inhabitants place value on craft and physical strength. Odd and the Frost Giants is a coming of age story about a young boy faced wi...more
Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress"
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Norse mythology enthusiasts
Odd and the Frost Giants was a quick, but very rewarding book to listen to on audio. The author himself narrated, and his voice is very pleasant to listen to. He knows his characters best and animated them as richly as he had intended them. The Norse mythology elements were interesting, and I loved how Mr. Gaiman injects a humorous view of the constant strife between the Aesir and the Frost Giants. He embodies the traits of Odin, Thor, and Loki very well, and their animal forms fit what char...more
Wonderful fable featuring a boy named Odd and the Norse gods, Thor, Loki, and Odin. (Just so you know, Odd means 'tip of a blade'.)
In the story, a Frost Giant tricks the Norse gods and throws them out of their Hall, closing the Rainbow Bridge in their faces. Odd meets them after he runs away from his step-father. He doesn't know initially that they are gods, basically because on top of all the other insults, they've been changed into animals.
Talking Points:::
A good ...more
In the story, a Frost Giant tricks the Norse gods and throws them out of their Hall, closing the Rainbow Bridge in their faces. Odd meets them after he runs away from his step-father. He doesn't know initially that they are gods, basically because on top of all the other insults, they've been changed into animals.
Talking Points:::
A good ...more
When I first sat down to write this review, all I was going to say was "I loved it." Then I was going to finish the post with "Everyone should read it." That's all folks. Though I doubt that would really excite you, or would it? Well either way, I'll never know. There is no way I could leave a review at two lines, though I'm sure some of you would prefer that over my longer, rambling ones.
Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved mythology. It doesn't even m...more
Ever since I was a little kid, I have loved mythology. It doesn't even m...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This would have been awesome anyway, but Neil Gaiman's amazing voice makes the audiobook even more awesome. But yes - fun, funny, and full of things that are, I think, quite in character for the Norse gods.
This book would get five stars if I liked - or just understood - Odd himself just a little bit more. I don't dislike him, but if there's one issue I have with Gaiman's writing, it's that I'd like to see a little more of his characters' internal lives. (It seems to me that he jus...more
This book would get five stars if I liked - or just understood - Odd himself just a little bit more. I don't dislike him, but if there's one issue I have with Gaiman's writing, it's that I'd like to see a little more of his characters' internal lives. (It seems to me that he jus...more
I enjoyed this book in that it was an interesting enough story and it was extremely easy to read, and the illustrations are wonderful.
Unfortunately I know little to nothing of Norse mythology and couldn't tell up from down with the Norse gods, except for what was explained to me and perhaps a little more garnered from American Gods so long ago. I think as an introduction to Norse myth, it could be stronger, but as a story for children with a little Norse myth thrown in, it was just ...more
Unfortunately I know little to nothing of Norse mythology and couldn't tell up from down with the Norse gods, except for what was explained to me and perhaps a little more garnered from American Gods so long ago. I think as an introduction to Norse myth, it could be stronger, but as a story for children with a little Norse myth thrown in, it was just ...more
I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman’s work. His writing ranges from the macabre to the whimsical and he is one of the stars on the international literary scene with an amazing website and a regular string of tweets.
In Odd and the Frost Giants, Gaiman takes a very simple reluctant hero trope and turns it into a quirky tale of friendship, lateral thinking and acceptance. Gaiman is a master storyteller who has such a laconic way of relating a tale and slipping in important detail:
The...more
In Odd and the Frost Giants, Gaiman takes a very simple reluctant hero trope and turns it into a quirky tale of friendship, lateral thinking and acceptance. Gaiman is a master storyteller who has such a laconic way of relating a tale and slipping in important detail:
The...more
This is a charming little story about a boy named Odd ( a real Scandinavian name) set in ancient Scandinavia. Odd’s father, a sea-fearing Viking dies and Odd and his mother were left by themselves. Since his father’s death, Odd’s mother married another man, who was mean to him. Odd escapes his step-father’s mean streak by going into the cottage that his father built. While at his father’s cottage Odd meets a Bear (Thor), Fox (Loki) and Eagle (Odin). Odd discovers that they are gods looked in a...more
I was really looking forward reading Gaiman's next children's book. It was a great read and a wonderful story.
Odd is a bit different from the rest of the Norse community he lives in. One night he wanders off to his deceased father's cabin to carve some wood and runs into a bear, an eagle, and a fox...and they can talk. Ends up that they are actually the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Loki trapped in animal shape by a Frost Giant who stole Thor's hammer (with some unintended aid from Loki)....more
Odd is a bit different from the rest of the Norse community he lives in. One night he wanders off to his deceased father's cabin to carve some wood and runs into a bear, an eagle, and a fox...and they can talk. Ends up that they are actually the Norse gods Thor, Odin, and Loki trapped in animal shape by a Frost Giant who stole Thor's hammer (with some unintended aid from Loki)....more
This is a wonderful, quick read, by one of my favorite authors Neil Gaiman.
The story is about a lonely boy named Odd, who lost his Viking father and his mother who was "stolen" by his father from her native Scotland. Odd tries to make it on his own by living up to his father's mythical image only to be crippled in an accident which forces his mother to get re-married.
Needless to say Odd's stature in the new house is not very high.
Odd runs away to ...more
The story is about a lonely boy named Odd, who lost his Viking father and his mother who was "stolen" by his father from her native Scotland. Odd tries to make it on his own by living up to his father's mythical image only to be crippled in an accident which forces his mother to get re-married.
Needless to say Odd's stature in the new house is not very high.
Odd runs away to ...more
Odd is a boy who lives in an old Viking village quite contentedly until his father passes away and his mother remarries. After times passes with his mother’s new husband and all of his awful children, Odd decides to leave his village for a hut in the wilderness that used to belong to his father.
While out for a stroll one morning, he first meets a fox outside the door who appears to want to tag along with him. He next encounters across a bear with its paw stuck in a tree; he helps...more
While out for a stroll one morning, he first meets a fox outside the door who appears to want to tag along with him. He next encounters across a bear with its paw stuck in a tree; he helps...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Odd and the Frost Giants was tremendous fun - and exactly what I needed as a brief respite from the series of Bond novels that I'm slogging through (rumour has it that the next one: The Spy Who Loved Me is the worst of the lot!)
This is the sort of thing Neil Gaiman does well - a young protagonist, the eponymous Odd, finds himself confronted by enchanted animals that turn out to be the gods of Norse mythology, who enlist his help in defeating the Frost Giants... well, a Frost Giant, a...more
This is the sort of thing Neil Gaiman does well - a young protagonist, the eponymous Odd, finds himself confronted by enchanted animals that turn out to be the gods of Norse mythology, who enlist his help in defeating the Frost Giants... well, a Frost Giant, a...more
Just finished this, and was pleasantly surprised! With the exception of American Gods, which I only disliked because I started it at an age when the sex in it made me uncomfortable (ah, the teenage years), I have yet to find a Gaiman book that I don't like; but I wasn't sure about Odd. I hadn't heard much about it outside of Neil's blog, and when I skimmed the first few pages, it just seemed too young for me. And yes, it's definitely a book for young readers--younger than YA, which I've been ...more
Neil Gaiman plies his writing skills to superb effect in this short, straightforwardly directed miniature novel that introduces a fine protagonist in the person of Odd, whom I hope to see more of in Neil Gaiman's future material.
Odd is a Scandinavian boy on whom fate has not always kindly smiled. His strong, creative father is dead, his mother has made a connection to an indifferent man who treats Odd as if he wishes that the boy did not exist, Odd's leg has been severely broken...more
Odd is a Scandinavian boy on whom fate has not always kindly smiled. His strong, creative father is dead, his mother has made a connection to an indifferent man who treats Odd as if he wishes that the boy did not exist, Odd's leg has been severely broken...more
I think my brief fling with Gaiman is over. The best thing going for Odd and the Frost Giants is that it is short and features charming line-drawing illustrations.
The book falls down mostly in that there's nothing really surprising or inventive here, and the characters never really have more than a single dimension. Odd's animal companions are mostly annoying, constantly bickering and aloof. Odd himself is a character that almost draws your sympathy -- he's little, crippled, and has...more
The book falls down mostly in that there's nothing really surprising or inventive here, and the characters never really have more than a single dimension. Odd's animal companions are mostly annoying, constantly bickering and aloof. Odd himself is a character that almost draws your sympathy -- he's little, crippled, and has...more
Odd is an unusual boy. He’s the son of a sea-faring Viking way back when in ancient Norway. Unfortunately for Odd, that brave father dies at sea, a tree falls and crushes Odd’s leg, and his mother remarries a less-than-sympathetic step-Viking. But Odd keeps smiling through it all—a great big cheerful smile, the kind of smile that makes you absolutely certain that not only is there more to Odd than meets the eye, but the boy’s got something up his sleeve too. In fact, it’s an absolutely infur...more
Nobody does a quest story like Neil Gaiman, and over the years it has proven to be his bread and butter. The reason why it always works so well is that he gives us strange characters that we can relate to, characters that want something and must strive and suffer to get it.
The premise in a nutshell: In Norway during the time of the Vikings, a young boy named Odd runs away from home and encounters three gods who have been displaced from their home by the Frost Giants and transformed ...more
The premise in a nutshell: In Norway during the time of the Vikings, a young boy named Odd runs away from home and encounters three gods who have been displaced from their home by the Frost Giants and transformed ...more
Really, Neil Gaiman is awesome. What else do I need to say. His writing is always so completely absorbing and beautiful and clever.
OK, now I'll talk about the book. This story uses Norse mythology, physical transformation, a trickster who gets out-tricked, and a perfect example of he power of words. Odd is a young boy whose Viking father has died and his mother has remarried a man who hates him. When he takes his father's ax out into the forest, he chops down the tree, but it ...more
OK, now I'll talk about the book. This story uses Norse mythology, physical transformation, a trickster who gets out-tricked, and a perfect example of he power of words. Odd is a young boy whose Viking father has died and his mother has remarried a man who hates him. When he takes his father's ax out into the forest, he chops down the tree, but it ...more
Odd goes out into the Norse wilderness after circumstances lead to a rather unhappy home-life for him. He travels to his father's woodcutting shed and intends to stay there forever. But, on his first day there he encounters a fox who he follows to find a bear stuck in between two trees and an eagle sorrowing overhead. After helping the bear Odd becomes friends with the three animals as they help him journey back to his cabin where they all spend the night. But that is when Odd finds that these ...more
What a wonderfully imaginative story! Inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Gaiman has crafted a magical story of a young boy and how he helps the gods regain their city. Odd – yes, that’s his name as well as a description – has had pretty bad luck in life. His father died at sea, his leg was crushed by a falling tree, and his mother’s new husband doesn’t like him. So Odd steals away in the night and goes to his father’s old woodcutting hut. But his solitude is quickly invaded by a fox, a...more
This is a wonderful children's novel about a crippled boy saving his homeland when his gods are overthrown by frost giants. Perfect for a bedtime story.
For the most part, it's a straightforward story involving love and cleverness and funny characters. One thing did strike me though; in the end, Freja (sp?) confesses to Odd that the gods can't change or learn, so they are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. That does seem to be the case with the Norse deities, whe...more
For the most part, it's a straightforward story involving love and cleverness and funny characters. One thing did strike me though; in the end, Freja (sp?) confesses to Odd that the gods can't change or learn, so they are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again. That does seem to be the case with the Norse deities, whe...more
This was a cute story. I knew that it was based on Norse myths and for some reason (probably the bear) I thought it was based on the "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" myth but that is more like "Beauty and the Beast" with a polar bear as the beast (at least according to what I read on SurLaLune Fairytales).
Odd is a young crippled boy whose runs away from home one winter after his widowed mother has remarried. He encounters a fox who leads him far into the wild...more
Odd is a young crippled boy whose runs away from home one winter after his widowed mother has remarried. He encounters a fox who leads him far into the wild...more
This is a very fun book. As a fan of fantasy fiction and of mythology and romance, its near cousins this was especially fun. I love how Gaiman manages to believably deal with enemies and evil (although there isn't really any evil in this book...) without resorting to the sort of crazed bloodletting that is far to often the solution in lesser fantasies. Not that I don't enjoy a good Helm's Deep or Pelennor Fields, but Tolkien didn't decide things on the battle field either. Cool character, good, ...more
Odd lives in a tiny village in Norway, in the time of the Vikings and the Norse gods. His leg was mangled in an accident, and he doesn't walk well. His father was killed on a Viking longship, and the longest winter ever is making everyone is the village crabby and miserable. Odd meets three creatures in the forest: a fox, a bear and an eagle, and travels with them on the ultimate rescue mission: to save the Norse gods in the city of Asgard from the invading Frost Giants. If he's successful...more
Cute, but a disappointment after The Graveyard Book. Odd reads more like an outline of itself than the full story. I think that the entire story could have been fleshed out more. The village that Odd lives in has no character or history, when a more thorough description of his peoples' way of life would have enhanced the story a lot. Similarly, Odd's final "battle" with the Frost Giant seems too easy. There was room for more description, more dialogue, and more suspense.
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I am a fan of Neil Gamain's work and in my eyes he can do no wrong. This book was no exception. When I got it in the mail I was disappointed in how small it was. Coraline and The Graveyard Book were much larger. But I should have known not to doubt my beloved author.
The story was solidly written; with a intriguing plot and lovable characters. The plot reminded me of an adventure book from my childhood. After his father's death and his mothers subsequent remarriage Odd runs away from ...more
The story was solidly written; with a intriguing plot and lovable characters. The plot reminded me of an adventure book from my childhood. After his father's death and his mothers subsequent remarriage Odd runs away from ...more
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